You Can't Always Get What You Want
by 0WolfMoon0
Summary: Draco was used to getting his way. He had all the right friends, the right mindset, until the day he truly met Potter. The day he learned that life isn't all about getting what you want. Written for the Quidditch League Competition, Keeper for the Kenmare Kestrels, round 5!


Rejected. That was how Draco felt. Rejection and rage fueled his system as he thought of the look on the Potter boy's face on the stairwell earlier that evening. Draco had offered his hand in friendship, only to be completely turned away by a child star. It was a new experience, and he hated it. The Sorting was a blur for him, the only clear moments being his own sorting and Potter's.

In only one day, Potter had gotten right under his skin. Sure he had Crabbe and Goyle with him in Slytherin, but he wanted an influential friend, a famous friend, a friend to shoot him to popularity. Draco always got what he wanted, except for this time.

Bursting into their new dormitory, Crabbe and Goyle watched as Draco walked right up to one of the four-poster beds and kicked it with all his might, giving a yell of frustration.

"Who would want Weasley over me!?" he shouted, turning his glare on Crabbe and Goyle. "Am I not good enough? Not rich enough to entice a celebrity?"

"Um... I don't think he realises how famous he is, if he's with Weasley," Crabbe offered timidly. Goyle slapped him upside the head.

"Don't be daft, Crabbe. He let his celebrity get to his head and wants to look like he's saving the poor Weasley," Goyle said, slightly more confidently. The other boys in the dormitory looked on confusedly.

"You don't mean Potter, do you?" asked a boy, Draco thought his name was Zabini.

"What is it to you?" Draco shot back at the boy, before turning back to his 'friends.' "Goyle, you might be right. He obviously thinks he is morally superior."

"I think Potter has just been infected by the Weasley already," Zabini threw in, sitting on the four-poster with his trunk at the base. It just so happened to be the one Draco was kicking. Draco stopped when he noticed the other boy.

Blinking, Draco stared at Zabini. "You might be right..." he said slowly, before it clicked in his mind. "Yes, that must be it! Weasley has already gotten to him, and as such he is not worth our trying. As of now, he is our sworn enemy."

Zabini nodded with a small smirk on his face. "I believe that is a great idea, Malfoy," he replied before beginning to change into pyjamas. Seeing this, the other three boys took the cue and began to do so as well. The other first year Slytherin boys exchanged looks before coming to the conclusion that these two would be their year's alpha males.

Draco felt pleased with himself. Potter and Weasley had fallen right into his trap, and Filch would catch them for sure. The morning after his intended "duel," Draco woke up with a feeling of being one step ahead of his competition.

However, his pleased look fell as he saw Potter eating breakfast surrounded by friends. Draco scowled as he gestured for Crabbe and Goyle to follow him to the Gryffindor table.

"Enjoying a last meal before you're put back on the train, Potter, Weasley?" he jabbed, feeling powerful with Crabbe and Goyle flanking him from behind.

Potter turned around and leveled a glare at Draco. "At least we didn't chicken out and kept to our word," he said with disdain, before turning back to his breakfast. Draco felt his fury mounting as he was ignored completely by the Gryffindors. With a glare at the back of Potter's head, Draco turned and stalked back to the Slytherin table. He plopped down beside Zabini.

"Can you believe he showed up, and didn't get in trouble!" Draco fumed. Zabini lifted his gaze from the novel he was reading to look at Draco.

"Yes, I can. He was sorted into Gryffindor, they keep their word, and you know that or you wouldn't have sent Filch after them," he said simply. "Stop being so reckless, Malfoy. You'll get yourself in trouble, or turned into a ferret or something someday."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Yeah, right. Like Potter could lay a hand on me. My father would never let it happen," he said with confidence. Zabini shook his head and returned to his novel and plate of scrambled eggs.

Inside his head, Draco vowed to get back at Potter for humiliating. _Perhaps a mishap at flying practice would do the trick_ , he thought. _Just you wait, Potter. I'll best you yet._

As months passed, Draco felt himself grow even more angry at Potter. He did everything in his power to be better than Potter, including aligning himself with the dastardly Slytherin alpha female of first year, Pansy Parkinson. In early November, it appeared that Potter even got a girl to join the Weasley in following him around. He sneered, because she was more attractive than Pansy, and this put him on par with Potter, rather than one step ahead. Draco hated it.

"Got yourself a girlfriend, Potter?" he jeered at Potter across the lawn. The girl, Granger he thought her name was, turned around and rolled her eyes at him.

"Grow up, Malfoy," she called over her shoulder, before turning back around and continuing on her way to Herbology. He rolled his eyes to Crabbe, Goyle, Zabini, and Pansy and her friends. Zabini shook his head at Draco.

"Don't bother with her, Malfoy," he said, sensing Draco's intentions. "To steal her from Potter would be to associate with a mudblood." Draco cringed at the thought.

"First blood traitors, then a mudblood, how far can the Potter bloodline fall?" Draco speculated maliciously. Crabbe and Goyle looked at each other and shrugged, following their leader to class.

"They were always blood traitors, Draco," Pansy said with venom. "Good, pureblood wizard line, tainted. Potter himself is only a halfblood."

"Wasting energy here, guys," Zabini cut in. "They aren't worth it."

Draco nodded in agreement. He resented Potter. He knew his friends' motives. They hung around him because it was good for their families or status. Potter's friends followed him because Potter was a good person, as loath as Draco was to admit it. Yes, Draco Malfoy resented Harry Potter because Harry Potter had everything that Draco Malfoy wanted. And Draco hated it.

While he hadn't personally beaten Potter, Draco was content at the end of the year celebration. Slytherin had, once again, beaten Gryffindor and won the House Cup. Draco grinned at the green and silver draperies in the Great Hall, pleased to be a part of Slytherin House.

Nothing could wreck Draco's mood... or so he thought. Because when Dumbledore stood up and started his speech, Draco's smile slowly slipped from his face. Everyone knew about Potter and his friends breaking almost every rule at the school, but here was the headmaster saying it was perfectly fine.

Fifty points to Granger, the little mudblood who was always too smart for her own good. Another fifty to Weasley for playing a game of chess. That one made Draco hiss in annoyance. Sixty points to Potter for being Potter, which Draco believed was the most idiotic reason Dumbledore could give.

Doing the mental math, Draco realised what Dumbledore was doing. He glared at the old man at the podium. Tied for first place with Gryffindor. Could Draco never just outright win? Dumbledore just _had_ to put him on equal footing with Potter.

Of course, then the headmaster sealed the deal. Ten points to Longbottom for having courage. Like Draco believed that. Longbottom was a sniveling idiot who was afraid of a teacher and couldn't do anything right. Cringing, Draco watched as his precious House colours were changed to red and gold, the colours of Gryffindor.

All Draco had wanted was to beat Potter, yet here was Dumbledore making that impossible for him. Dropping his head to the table, Draco groaned louder than anyone at the Slytherin table. Then, he sat up, more determined than ever to beat the so-called "Boy-Who-Lived." Potter wasn't so special, and Draco would make them all realise that.

 **A/N Thanks for reading, y'all! just over 1300 words, written for the Quidditch League round five. Draco Malfoy, our team's character for this round, in his first year! Short, sweet, spoiled Draco. R &R and make sure you check out my other stories if you have the time!**


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